Leadership Memo 2025-4
Last year, I wrote a mini-series on Bayer’s audacious corporate experiment under CEO Bill Anderson. A year has passed. Let’s see how this bold venture is faring.
Let me refresh your memory.
Bayer is a US$50 billion multinational company with a 160-year history. When Bill stepped in as CEO in June 2023, Bayer was struggling. Its share price had hit a 20-year low (down 50% in just a year). On top of that: massive debt, looming patent expirations, and a mountain of litigation.
So what did Bill do?
Of course, he and his leadership team had to tackle legal issues, financial stability and product pipeline. But to him, the real enemy was bureaucracy. It was stifling innovation and value creation.
His solution? He launched “Dynamic Shared Ownership” (DSO) in early 2024, a radically new way of operating that puts 95% of decision-making in the hands of people doing the work. No reorganizing or streamlining existing systems. Just a controlled explosion of the traditional hierarchy.
“We know this [DSO] will be 100% successful,” Bill declared.
Now, a year has passed. How did Bayer do?
The 2024 results show they’ve reduced debt and improved their pipeline, with new medicines launching this year. They’re also working to manage litigation in 2025. And for DSO? Let’s hear directly from the teams doing the work.
A few months ago in Mexico City, Bayer teams from all three divisions came together to share how DSO is changing the way they work. Customer and product teams now operate with new levels of freedom and accountability. They’re listening more closely to customers, innovating faster, and getting more done. Leaders are learning how to guide and support the teams in the new system.
More recently, 170 leaders from Bayer’s Pharma division met to celebrate the progress DSO has sparked and plan what’s next. They shared how customer and product teams are acting more like entrepreneurs, working closely with technical and support teams to drive growth and results. This growing network of agile teams, backed by flexible funding and talent, and supported by leaders working in new ways, is starting to deliver real impact.
As for full implementation, Bayer plans to make DSO “the way work gets done everywhere” in 2025, aiming for increased speed at lower costs by empowering those closest to customers and products.
Bayer is one year into a three-year transformation. Results so far? Promising. “We’ve got a lot to do and we know it. I promise that we won’t rest until our progress turns into results.” Bill stated.
So what do you think? Is Anderson’s bold claim justified, or is he overly optimistic?
Next time, we’ll dive deeper into Bayer’s DSO journey over the past year.
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